Quality not quantity the key for football's touring teams

It's easy to be cynical about the All Stars game. It's better to be careful. While no one can honestly suggest Sunday night's showcase at Homebush Bay between the best of the A-League and Italian juggernauts Juventus is about anything other than money, it's also about opportunity. And it's here that Football Federation Australia needs to be watchful.

Once upon a time, Europe exported religion to the frontiers. Now it exports football, the greatest of global religions. In recent weeks, we have seen the US, China and New Zealand invaded by the missionaries of the EPL, La Liga and Ligue Un. The accompanying spin doctors wax lyrical about what they put into these tours, but it's what they get out of them that concerns them the most. Which is where the balancing act comes into play.

In the last few weeks, the US has been saturated with touring teams, from the modest (Crystal Palace) to the mighty (Real Madrid and Manchester United). At the same time, Major League Soccer (MLS) fixtures have continued, and suffered little in comparison. What's more impressive, 100,000 people showing up to watch Manchester United play an exhibition in Detroit, or 50,000 showing up to watch San Joss Earthquakes play a league fixture in San Francisco? Take your pick.

What it tells me is that the Americans, with their slow-burn approach to evolving their own professional competition (formed in 1993), are finally comfortable in their own skin. It's taken two decades, but they have developed football in a sporting market eerily similar to Australia to a point where it is now strong enough to stand on its own feet. By taking strategic decisions only after careful consideration (and heeding painful lessons), the MLS now gets as much out of these tours as it gives.

Yet if America is the land of opportunity for the mega clubs of Europe, Asia remains an even greater prize. More people equals, potentially, more money. It's the holy grail.

In that context, it is the example of Japan that Australia – as a leading Asian nation – needs to follow. And it is the examples of countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and even China, that serve a warning. South-east Asia, in particular, remains a scorched earth for domestic leagues, largely because European clubs – especially the EPL – have sucked the life out of the market. FFA has an obligation to make sure that doesn't happen here.

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It's instructive, certainly, that Asia's strongest league, the J-League, rarely hosts these pre-season tours. It's just as instructive that Japan's closest football ally in Europe, Germany, runs the best competition in the world, and the one with the most integrity. FFA could do a lot worse than spend some time and energy trying to muscle in on this relationship.

In the meantime, quality rather than quantity should always be the benchmark. In recent weeks, West Ham, Newcastle United and Malaga have tested the A-League market, with mixed commercial results. Less than 10,000 fans showed up in Dunedin and less than 8000 in Perth. Certainly these games offer A-League coaches and players a worthwhile challenge, but in a strategic sense, their value is dubious. In recent years we have seen the likes of Fulham, AEK Athens, Blackburn Rovers, Olympiakos and Wolverhampton Wanderers make an equally muted impact. Legacy? None.

A year ago, it seemed the FFA recognised the distinction. Manchester United drew more than 80,000 to Homebush Bay for the inaugural All Stars match, and Liverpool – unforgettably – drew 95,000 to the MCG for a game against Melbourne Victory. A hard act to follow, but Juventus are a decent alternative. Sunday night's crowd is expected to be around 55,000, which some would suggest is an accurate reflection of their popularity in this country.

Those predictions might have been more optimistic if the Italians had shown more enthusiasm for the cause. The sort of heavy lifting done by Manchester United and Liverpool would have been nice.

Originally, Juventus were going to spend 10 days in Australia, then it was seven and in the end they've given themselves 48 hours to promote the game after deciding to play in Jakarta on their way. It's hard to escape the conclusion Juventus aren't that serious about developing a relationship with Australia. Another "first world" club more concerned with taking more than they give.

For all that, this is an experience not without its merits, and one we should enjoy. Andrea Pirlo's first and only appearance in Australia came at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. This will certainly be his last. Worth the price of admission? Thomas Broich thinks so. The stiffest competition, he said the other day, will be to swap shirts with Pirlo after the game.